How to Make Your Own Video

A few people have asked how I made my TpT Love video, so I thought I’d make a quick tutorial explaining my process.

The first thing I did was write a script. Yep, basic stuff. I decided what I wanted to say and typed it out in Powerpoint (Can a person ever go back to using Word? Apparently not.). Next, after I had my script, I looked at pieces of it and had to decide how best to display those thoughts on screen. For instance, when I talked about how TpT is like a community/family, I wanted to highlight what it was like to meet blog friends in real life. Which meant, I needed to show photos. So, rather than just displaying photos of friends like you might see in a Powerpoint collage or something, I decided to do a screen capture. This is REALLY EASY. If you have Quicktime, chances are, you can do this. Go to your programs/applications and check to see if you have this:

Then, open it, go to “File—>New Screen Recording to capture your movements as a video (this is great for tutorials that you want to save and put on your blog or Youtube channel).

Next, press the little red button when you’re ready to start recording your motions. Tip: you may want to clear your desktop (hide those files in one folder/change your background image) or bookmarks if you don’t want anyone seeing them.

Depending on what you’re recording, you have some options.

And when you’re done (as it says above), look for the little “Stop” button in the top right.

Okay, so now you have your video footage (or part of it anyway). Now you might want to add other audio or edit some more (like adding transitions between scenes, music, titles, credits, etc.). If you’re on a Mac, you probably have iMovie. Go to your applications and look for it.

Go to “File—>New Movie” and you can import your screen captured footage.

You can also use your own video footage (using your computer, phone, camera…really, they’re everywhere these days). I often just use my iPhone to take the footage. And if you don’t have video of something, look for stock video footage! Be prepared to pay for it. Just Google “stock video” and you’ll see a few choices and can search around for what you might be looking for. You can import that as well. Just drag it to the bottom area and start making your video!

A few simple tips:

Once your footage is imported, you can crop the length of it to get rid of any “yucky” scenes or fluff if you’re trying to cut back on time. You can also change the speed of each clip (that little spedometer can come in handy if you have a time limit). I suggest you play around with the menu and just see what each item does to your footage. I learn something new each time I use it!

Use the transitions (lower left) in between your scenes for a more seamless look (scenes ending abruptly are not pretty). Most movies have a Title at the beginning and a Title at the end (just like real movies!). You can use iTunes, but keep in mind that if you’re using your video commercially, you’ll need to see if it can be used (I emailed the company who did my song and they happily agreed–yay!) and make sure you have the appropriate license. You can also record your audio right in iMovie, add sound effects or use GarageBand to make your own original song.

And if you liked the “hand drawing/writing” footage from my movie, you’ll want to check out Easy Sketch Pro. It’s incredibly easy (basically you just drag and drop the clipart and type the fonts) to use and if I can do it, so can you! You can even change the style of hand, pen/pencil/brush, speed, or even if you want to have a hand “push” or “pull” an item across the screen. It’s a TON of FUN to just play around with, even if you aren’t going to use it in your video 🙂

***** If you are using clipart, I suggest you look at the TOU of the artist prior to using it in your video. Chances are you can use it, but it’s up to you to check. And remember, just like TpT printables, you’ll most likely need to provide a credit logo (the last scene in your movie would be appropriate–“Special thanks to the following clipartists: insert logo” is an example).

Once you’re done with your movie, you’ll need to “save” it by exporting it. Go to “File—>Share” and choose how you want to share it. I always share as a File so I can actually have the file (I upload to Youtube after).

So that’s it! I am by no means an expert, but am happy to try and answer any questions you may have about making a video! Happy directing friends!